How to Deal With the Most Common Signs of Aging

Aging is a natural process and nothing to be too concerned or self-conscious about. Everyone feels their body slowing down and having a harder time healing itself once we go past 35, and the problems only get more pronounced as we grow older. However, different bodies will age at a different pace, and it’s not just a matter of genetics. The way we treat our body has a huge effect on how graciously or quickly we will grow old, and what we will look like some 10-20 years from now.

Growing old can be a lovely adventure and a valuable experience, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t try and look our best even in old age. Here are a few good ways to deal with common signs of aging, so you keep your youthful look for longer and stay as healthy as you can later in life.

Hair thinning or going gray

Genetics is a key factor in this, but things like high stress levels and increased sun exposure can cause the hair to thin out or become dry. The first step to keeping your hair, as well as your entire body for that matter, healthy is to switch to a healthier diet. Eat plenty of fruit and vegetables every single day, drink enough water and get some fish oil supplements if you don’t eat a lot of fish, nuts, avocados or olive oil. Another important thing is to try and cut down on stress as much as you can – doing yoga is great for keeping your body limber and your mind relaxed – as well as limit direct sun exposure. It is also important to avoid very strong products and chemical hair dyes, at least while you are younger. Grey hair is an easy fix – just head down to a beauty salon and choose a hair color you’d like.

Loose and dry skin

Using very strong cosmetic products, overly-perfumed soaps and shower gels, exfoliating too often and exposing your skin to the sun for long periods of time can cause it to dry out. Be sure to use only mild products, gently pat yourself dry and apply a generous amount of moisturizer every morning and night to keep the skin smooth and soft. Physical exercise, mainly strength training, can help you tighten up the skin by burning of fat that may cause it to sag more and replacing it with firm muscle. In areas such as the neck you can use creams that contain collagen promoting pep-tides.

Wrinkles and age spots

Once again prolonged sun exposure is your biggest enemy. Apply a sunscreen with a high UV factor when going outside, stay in the shade, wear a hat and avoid going out during the hottest hours of the day. Moisturizing and relaxing your facial muscles for about 10 minutes a couple of time per day will help reduce wrinkles, while less stress means less grimacing and less wrinkles as well. Certain electronic cosmetic devices have been shown to help reduce both wrinkles and age spots by using a high-frequency vibration that penetrates deeper levels of the skin, increasing collagen production and relaxing the numerous tiny muscles of the face.

Loss of muscle mass and bone mass density

You can significantly reduce the risk of osteoporosis and keep a decent amount of lean muscle mass with regular exercise. Women should not be afraid of lifting heavy – you won’t get big and bulky like those steroid infused fitness models in magazines, even after several years of consistently lifting heavy – as fewer repetitions with challenging weights has been proven to increase bone density, strengthen tendons, keep the hormones in balance and boost your metabolism. Done correctly and combined with yoga or simple stretching, strength training can help your body stay healthy and become more resilient, significantly reducing the risk of physical injury and a number of medical conditions.

Despite the fact that growing weaker and losing that youthful beauty and energy over time is a very natural thing, we can still do a lot to keep ourselves looking good and feeling healthy long into our twilight years. Living healthy is not that difficult and only requires a bit of determination and perseverance, but can yield great results.